Indian Inspired Dinner Menu

I saw a recipe on Pinterest for an Indian Spiced Roast Chicken from Simply Delicious and was motivated to make an Indian inspired dinner.

I made the Indian Spiced Roast Chicken, a vegetable curry, and our cucumber salad and served it with some naan bread.

I don't know why I don't cook with these spices more often. I mean, curry, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, coriander...hello!...all delicious, all readily available (even in Lillooet!), all fairly inexpensive.

I hope you are not intimidated by the number of ingredients in these recipes. It seems like a lot. I was initially thinking that it would take me forever to make this dinner as there were so many ingredients.

Not true.

It came together very quickly and was incredibly easy.

Oh. Yeah. Can I just add that I have never made a roast chicken before.

Weird, right?

I have made a million different recipes but have never attempted to roast a chicken.

This was the perfect recipe for my first attempt. It was moist, juicy, succulent, and the flavor was amazing. The fact that I had to have my hand inside a raw chicken (eeeeeeeewwwwww) was not lost on me...BUT...I am prepared to do it again because this recipe is now my new favorite.

I am sharing the Indian Spiced Roast Chicken recipe and the Vegetable Curry recipe with you today. You can click HERE to find our Cucumber Salad recipe.

Indian Spiced Roast Chicken

(Slightly adapted from Simply Delicious)

Ingredients

Spice Paste

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

pinch salt

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp curry powder

pinch coriander

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp oil

1/4 medium tomato

1 Tbsp ground almond

Marinade

1 recipe spice paste (above)

2 Tbsp garam masala

1 tsp salt

juice of 2 limes

1 tsp sugar

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Chicken

1 roasting chicken (5 to 10 lbs)

Directions

Preheat oven to 300. Spray a roasting pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Spice Paste: In a frying pan, add the spices from the "spice paste" list. Toast them until they are fragrant, about 1 - 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add to blender (or food processor).

To the spices, add the garlic, oil, tomato, and ground almonds. Process until a smooth paste is created.

Combine the spice paste with the marinade ingredients (garam masala, salt, lime juice, sugar, yogurt). Whisk together until combined.

Rinse and pat the chicken dry.

Rub the marinade all over the chicken. Gently lift the skin up and spread the marinade under the skin as well. Spread any remaining marinade into the cavity of the chicken.

Place chicken into prepared roasting pan. Tent foil over the chicken to cover.

Place in 300 oven and bake for one hour, covered. After an hour, turn oven up to 350. Uncover and bake until chicken is done. This could take between anywhere from an hour to 2 hours, depending on the size of your chicken. (Internal temperature should be 185, juices should run clear) If the skin is getting too dark, cover with foil again until it is done.

Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.

Carve and serve hot.

*Drool*

I thought I did pretty good for my first roast chicken. Sue carved it up for me - she may need to work on her carving skills a little....

Vegetable Curry

Ingredients

First in Pot

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 cup butter (or ghee)

4 cloves garlic

1 medium onion

2 Tbsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric

Second in Pot

2 large carrots

1 medium parsnip

1 can (420 g) coconut milk

Third in Pot

2 stalks celery

1/2 head broccoli

1/4 head cauliflower

1 large potato

2 cups mushrooms

1 large tomato

1 - 2 cups water

Last in Pot

1/2 cup peas

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Directions

Prep all your veggies by cutting them into 1 - 2 inch pieces. (It makes things easier if you have them in 3 piles according to the list above - IE: one pile is first in pot, one pile is second in pot, and one pile is third in pot.)

In a large saucepan, heat mustard seeds until they start to pop. Add butter, garlic, onion, curry powder, cumin, and turmeric. Cook and stir until onion softens.

Add in "second in pot" ingredients - carrots, parsnip, and coconut milk. Let cook for about 8 - 10 minutes, until carrots and parsnips start to soften.

Add in "third in pot" ingredients - celery, broccoli, cauliflower, potato, mushrooms, tomato, and water. (Water should be about halfway up the sides of the veggies. The veggies will cook way down!)

Simmer, stirring every few minutes, for about 10 minutes.

Finally, add in the "last in pot" ingredients. Peas, chickpeas, and vinegar. Simmer another 5 - 10 minutes, until heated through.

**I use mild curry. You may want to adjust the amount of spices depending on how hot your curry is and your personal preferences**

There is the Cucumber Salad. We make ours with sour cream but you can use yogurt/Greek yogurt as a sub.

Two types of Naan bread - whole wheat and garlic.  I haven't taken the plunge yet and made my own Naan. These were store bought. :)

They worked great to soak up the sauce from the veggies. You could also serve the veggies on basmati or jasmin rice.

My favorite was definitely the chicken.

The veggie curry was good but not as exciting as the roast chicken.  Feel free to sub your favorite vegetables - it is a pretty easy going recipe.

Want to know what's even better about this dinner?

Leftovers the following day are even tastier.

That is.....if you have any leftovers!

UPDATE: Ooh oooh oooh! Check this out - what to do with any leftovers - Indian Spiced Shredded Chicken Wrap with Avocado Curry Sauce and Veggie Curry on Rice. The wraps are totally my new favorite thing in the whole universe. 

Don't forget to stop by Feeding Big and The Velvet Moon Baker and Love Bakes Good Cakes and Memories By The Mile and Hun... What's For Dinner? and Chef In Training and Carole's Chatter for some great links!